Pride, Prejudice, and Potions
by FreshPress
Summary: Scorpius finds himself assaulted with alarming feelings that he'd never recognized before, and he acts without thinking, insulting and angering a fiery Rose. Both spend their night in fervor, as realizations and revelations pass through their minds.
1. Malfoy's Mind

_The key is to forget about it_. _And the key to forgetting is alcohol_.

Scorpius Malfoy took another burning swig of firewhiskey, temporarily drowning out the awful thoughts that kept persistently creeping back into his mind.

He looked up at the night sky, the bright stars blurry through his tears. Yes, Scorpius Malfoy was actually crying. It was absolutely _ridiculous_ that any single human being could make him hit rock bottom so fast, and so hard. Especially if the said human being was a _Weasel_.

Oh, how his father would be ashamed of him if he saw Scorpius in this condition . . . .

He leaned his head back against the cold stone parapet of the Astronomy Tower, letting a few more tears slide down his face. _Damn her_. He thought angrily. _Damn her for making a Hufflepuff out of me._ He fingered the purple bruise on his cheek.

It's just - he was still in such shock for receiving this sudden assault of unexpected and alarming feelings, all in the last few hours. First there was the anger, then the confusion, then the realization, then the stabbing hurt, and now - the depression.

_How could she - how could she be so __**awfully**__ prejudiced against me? How could she have simply given me a label and never an opportunity? And how the BLOODY HELL could I __**still**__ feel this way about her at the same time? When did this thing all start, anyways? She's such a -_

Scorpius sighed. He was tired of playing the blame game. He knew there was no use in being angry at Rose. Not now, anyways. He supposed that there _had_ been some things at his fault.

For the past few hours, he had tried to convince himself that he longer had any sort of feelings for Rose Weasley besides a cold enmity. For Merlin's sake, what _other_ feelings could he _possibly_ harbor for someone who had called him those nasty, narrow-minded things?

Scorpius smashed his firewhiskey bottle on the ground in frustration.

The whole "getting over her" plan wasn't working. No matter what, Scorpius couldn't help but smile as he remembered the feeling of her lips against his.

So the only other option was to hide his newfound feelings and pretend nothing had ever happened.

_I hope she __**never**__ finds out what she's done to me. I can't ever let it show how much I'm still going to care - how much I'll still pine for her acceptance. _

_Because if she ever finds out any of these things, she'd just laugh at how a filthy piece of Slytherin scum like me could ever think that they'd deserve her. _

_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading! Yes, I know its a bit too much with the whole in-mind thing, but I thought I'd give romance a shot. This is going to be a very short story, only four chapters. Please review and keep reading!_


	2. Rose's Revelation

_That filthy piece of Slytherin scum!_

Rose stormed up the stairs, furious. She was so wrapped up in her angry thoughts, she forgot about the vanishing 32nd step on the staircase up to the seventh-floor left-hand corridor.

"Bloody hell!" She cried as she sunk knee-deep into the stairs. She managed to get herself straightened up, then continued her stampede up to the Gryffindor common room.

"Password?" The Fat Lady demanded.

"Malfoy!" Rose snapped.

"I'm sorry, that's not correct, dearest."

"I mean, _Malloy Venarctulum_!" Rose said, flustered.

"That's it, love." The portrait swung open, and Rose clambered in.

"Well, well, well, looks like someone's having their time of the month." Albus remarked from his armchair as he peeked over his Potions textbook to observe his cousin.

"Your friend is a bloody bastard!" Rose shrieked, turning on Albus.

"Hush, Rose, darling." Albus said sedately. "Now, _what_ on earth are you going on about?"

"Malfoy . . ." Rose spat venomously.

"Oh, Scorpius. What's he done to you, now?"

"That scumbag - HE'S GONE AND STOLEN MY FIRST SNOG!!!" Rose burst, clearly not being able to hold it in. "I _abhor _him - how could he've just done that - I would've hexed him into the next century - but McGonagall -" Rose stopped, breathing hardly. Tears were rising in her eyes.

"What?" Albus straightened up.

"Did you not hear me? Your dick of a friend has made a move on me!" Rose then proceeded to burst into tears.

"So he's finally had a revelation, hasn't he?" Albus smirked. "I've been telling him this all along."

"Al - what - you're _smiling_!" Rose was mortified. "How could you mock me with _this_? And what the bloody _hell_ are you talking about?"

Albus went back to his Potions book. "I've been telling him since third year that he's had a thing for you. Stubborn prat, wouldn't hear of it."

Rose started, opened her mouth, then closed it. She was silenced by her own shock.

"You're surprised. " Albus stated.

"Albus, your theory is absolutely ridiculous." Rose regained her angry composure. "He's always acting like a berk around me - he's never shown any sign of affection or even _politeness_ towards me."

"Because he always puts his guard up around you, even though he doesn't realize it." Albus explained simply.

"Al?"

"Hmm?"

"You're barking."

Al shrugged. "You two are both too stubborn for your own good."

"I mean, even if he _does_ like me, that doesn't go on and give him the right to kiss me without my permission! That's a violation!"

"Maybe he couldn't control himself. Or maybe . . . . ." Albus raised his eyebrow. ". . . . you might've misguided him into thinking you wanted to kiss him?" He smirked. "Maybe you subconsciously _wanted_ to kiss him."

Rose bristled. "Albus Severus Potter, you're _mad_! I would _never, ever, EVER, _even _think_ of letting Death Eater dirt like Malfoy touch me like that!"

Albus stiffened. "Rose, why must you be so judgmental and prejudiced against Scorpius?"

"_Me_? Prejudiced? It's blood like _him_ that are prejudiced - what with discriminating people like Mum."

"That's the past, Rose. Right now, _you're_ the one that's making the same mistake his parents made so many years ago. I mean, what do you have to base your accusations against Scorpius? You know, besides his parentage."

"He's a prat." Rose shot back.

"How so?"

"He - he's just annoying! He says annoying things and he's a flirt -"

"So is Lysander, but you don't seem to mind." Albus smirked.

Rose turned as red as her hair. "But - but - Lysander's okay!"

"Because you're madly in love with him?" Albus rolled his eyes.

"No!" Rose spluttered. "It - it's because I know Lysander's still a good person in the end."

"And how do you know Scorpius isn't a good person?"

"Because!" Rose answered childishly. "Anyways," She said, quickly changing the subject. "Why're you so keen on advertising Scorpius?"

Albus sighed. "Rose, you have no idea . . . . .he cares about you _so_ much, it makes me vomit."

Rose scoffed. "Right."

"He's in denial, of course, he'd never admit it - but I can just tell. Whenever I mention your name, this glint always appears in his eyes, and he can't help smiling. He's always complaining about you, but I can completely see through his act; he just uses it as an excuse to talk about you."

"You're off your rocker." Rose huffed, heading towards her dormitory.

"You just won't give him a chance, will you?" Albus asked, frustrated, and stuck his nose back into his Potions book. So he didn't see his cousin pale and stiffen as she recalled a recent memory.

_You just won't give me a chance, will you? _His voice rang through her head.


	3. Flashback

_"Will you stop messing around?" Rose huffed, annoyed, turning away from the bubbling cauldron. _

_"Yes, Professor." Scorpius mocked, saluting her. _

_Rose's upper lip curled in disgust. "Oh, you're hilarious. Now, will you hand me the asphodel root?"_

_"I've already put it in." _

_"You've done **what**?" Rose's eyes widened. _

_"I've put in the root already."_

_"You **berk**, you're not supposed to wait a full two minutes after the last step before putting it in!" Rose scolded. _

_Scorpius flushed. "Well, you didn't tell me! You never tell me what you're doing - you just carry on by yourself. Did you ever consider this was a **partner** assignment?" _

_"Well, you're being a **great** partner alright, ruining our potion." _

_"Alright, so you've failed an assignment. Big deal. There's worse that could happen." Scorpius snapped. _

_Suddenly a frightening **hiss** of acid brought Scorpius and Rose's attention to the cauldron. Both students of them swore as the potion slowly began to melt the black pewter._

_Fifteen minutes later, they found themselves wiping up the last few bits of their cocked-up Nocturne Potion. Professor Stirrings had eliminated wand use to punish them for making such a mess. _

_"This is all your fault." Rose hissed. _

_"Oh, is it?" Scorpius said loftily. "Is it really my fault that you're so high-and-mighty that you refuse to cooperate with anyone."_

_"**Me**? It's **you**!" Rose shouted, throwing down her rag angrily and facing him. _

_"How so?" He sneered, stepping towards her. _

_"If you'd just listened to me -"_

_"You didn't even tell me anything! You were practically ignoring me the whole time!" Scorpius confronted her. _

_Rose sniffed. "That's because I'd rather not have to deal with the likes of you." _

_Scorpius raised looked at her straight-on. Grey eyes met blue. "With the likes of me?" He said quietly, for some reason feeling a bit sad._

_It was right then that he noticed how close they were standing. He could detect a few stray wisps of red hair that had fallen out of place. He had a sudden urge to tuck them behind her ear, for some reason. Scorpius was caught off guard by this sudden want. How odd. _

_Paranoia filled his mind. He warned himself not to look at her anymore, but of course, reverse psychology was put into play. Scorpius just **couldn't** help but notice her soft, plush, pink lips. _

_Before he could even think about what he was doing, he found himself kissing Rose Weasley. _

_Rose was so taken back with surprise that she forgot breathe. Her eyes widened in shock as Scorpius' lips pressed against hers. She couldn't think, didn't **want** to think, so she just did the most natural thing - she closed her eyes. _

_Then, like a blinding ray of light, she realized what she was doing. _

_Rose shoved Scorpius backwards, so forcefully that he toppled over a pile of dusty Potions textbooks. "YOU SODDING BASTARD!" She shrieked, and slapped him hard, across the face. _

_She whipped out her holly wand and pointed it threateningly at Scorpius' face. _

_"YOU DEATH EATER SLYTHERIN SCUM, DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON ME!" She screamed, getting ready to hex him to death. _

_Rose faltered, however, when she saw the unnerving change of mood he had undergone. _

_His grey eyes were dark with turmoil, and his usual snotty façade had disappeared. Sitting on the ground, holding his cheek with his hand, he just looked vulnerable. _

_Scorpius finally raised his eyes to Rose, and she started to see an immensely deep grief hidden behind those gray curtains. _

_"You just won't give me a chance, will you?" He said bitterly. _

* * *

Rose sat up abruptly, breaking out in cold sweat. She looked down and saw that her pillow was dotted with tears.

She bit her lip.

She knew it was no use trying to go back to sleep again. Rose glanced out the window, where the full moon was glowing brightly in the sky, and swung her feet down from the bed.

It was time to take a midnight stroll.

* * *

**Author's Note: **The italicized text is a flashback, and its not nessecarily meant to be describing the thoughts of either of the characters at the time, because I highly doubt that either of them would have such precise memory. However, I _am _insinuating that Rose had a dream involving the incident.


	4. The Serpent's Rose

_She'll always hate me._

Scorpius mused sadly, coming to the bottom of his third bottle of Ogden's. Oh, dear.

When Scorpius became drunk, he wouldn't become louder or more raucous like most people - in fact, he would become exactly the opposite - more quiet, serious, and more thoughtful. And he realized now, too late, that the drinking wasn't helping this whole depression thing at all. But it was too late to stop.

How could she possibly like that prat - what was his name - Lysander Salamander? What did _he _have that Scorpius didn't? Looks? Scorpius had those. Popularity? Check. Quidditch appeal? Scorpius was the Slytherin Seeker, for Merlin's sake!

But the Salamander had a name. Even if was a rather strange one at that, he had an honorable name, untarnished by the war - if not decorated by it - and his parents were family friends of the Weasleys.

Was this his father's fault? If his father hadn't hated Harry Potter so damn much, maybe he and Rose would've gotten together by now. Or at least, maybe she'd give him a standing chance.

Scorpius laughed at himself. What was he doing, blaming his father for things? It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. It just wasn't meant to be, he told himself.

To his embarrassment, he felt moisture in his eyes once more. Oh great, he thought, I'm crying again like a nancy. Thank Merlin it's the middle of the night and no one's up to witness this.

Then, to his utter horror, the door to the Astronomy Tower creaked open.

* * *

That last person she'd expected to see up at this hour, at _this _place, was _him_.

The moment they saw each other, one turned very red and one turned very white. Scorpius immediately leapt up out of shock, sending the empty whiskey bottles on the floor tumbling.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't - I mean, I wasn't -" Rose spluttered, then silenced, utterly mortified. Her ears felt like they were on fire.

The two just stood there for a moment, both embarrassed and confused, not daring to look at each other. The tension was thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

Rose felt an unbelievable pang of guilt as she sneaked a fleeting glance at Scorpius. His hair was a mess, and he was still in his school robes, which were wrinkled and spotted with beer stains. His eyes were redder than her own, and were circled with dark purple bags. Scorpius looked so . . . . .tired. Rose felt a sudden urge to just give him a huge hug, but the awkwardness of their meeting restrained her.

"I didn't know there'd be anyone up here." Rose said quietly, flushing once again.

"Whatever." Scorpius shrugged after a bit, his voice a bit hoarse. He cleared his throat. "I was going to leave, anyways." He Vanished all the firewhiskey bottles and headed towards the door.

Rose stood, glued to the floor, her mind completely fogged up as he passed her on his way out.

Panic rose in her throat. She couldn't let him go! Not like that - no, she had to stop him! She had to say _something_ -

"Scorpius?" Rose breathed.

Scorpius froze, surprised at the use of his first name, but didn't turn around.

"Um, Scorpius." Rose approached him tentatively. "I just - er -"

She fidgeted as he turned around and looked at her tiredly with those despaired gray eyes. _C'mon, Rosie, you owe him this_.

"I just wanted to apologize for what an arse I've been to you!" Rose blurted, then burst into tears.

"Hey." Scorpius' voice was soft and sad as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Rose was amazed at how much better she felt just by that touch. "Look, today, it was completely my fault, alright? You had every right to slap me. There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

"No." Rose shuddered. "I mean, I've been so prejudiced against you for years. I judged you before I even met you. And what I said earlier about you being scum . . .I wish I could take it all back. I can't believe I let those words come out of my mouth."

Scorpius pulled her into a hug, and Rose sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's alright, Rose, the past is the past. I'm willing to forget history, if you will?" Scorpius murmured into her ear, sending tremors down her back.

Rose smiled through her tears, blushing.

"To tell you the truth . . . " She said sheepishly. "I don't really _want_ to forget what happened in Potions class today. Do you?"

Scorpius smirked. "I'll be more than happy to refresh your memory." Then he tilted her chin up so her blue eyes met his silver, and Scorpius Malfoy kissed Rose Weasley as the stars and the moon smiled down upon them.


End file.
